Angels catch up to Oakland with 4-2 win

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Angels had a three-run home run recalled via a replay on Tuesday night. They still scored enough to pull even with the A's for the second spot in the AL West.

The Angels topped Oakland 4-2 even after Peter Bourjos' shot down the left-field line was ruled foul in the seventh upon review. Torii Hunter had drilled one fair to left in the second, and the Angels added two in the sixth off Dallas Braden on three consecutive singles and a groundout; an error by catcher Landon Powell led to an unearned run the next inning. The upshot: Oakland's fifth loss in a row and sixth in seven games.

"We're obviously losing ground," Braden said. "As hard as it is to play for (second place), we still have jobs to do. You don't want to give a team like that a chance to pass you up."

The A's got their 100th homer of the season, a solo shot by team home run leader Kevin Kouzmanoff, who has 15. Mark Ellis drove in the other run with a single, and he doubled to give him 12 multi-hit games this month. He's batting a league-leading .411 in September, good timing for a player whose team option will be discussed next week.

Braden, scheduled to start the season finale Sunday, allowed 10 hits and four runs, three earned, in seven innings.

Bourjos made his mark defensively: He made a diving play on a liner by Rajai Davis in the third and leaped at the wall for a drive by Landon Powell in the fourth.

"That kid in center taking a home run away, that was a big play. That would have put us up two more runs," A's manager Bob Geren said.

Today, in the series finale, Bobby Cramer starts in his hometown, in a ballpark where he has attended games his entire life - when Cramer was out of baseball in 2006, he had Angels season tickets. "This is the big leagues for me," he said. "It's pretty neat."

Cramer expects a big turnout; he's heard that a group of about 100 friends will be tailgating today, and he's got 30 tickets he's providing for his family and closest friends.

"I think half the city of Anaheim is going to be playing hooky tomorrow," he said with a grin.

Cramer's father, Bob, will be watching his son pitch in the majors for the first time.

"I'm going to try to win this one for my dad," Cramer said.

Available slugger? Oakland needs to add offense this winter. Could one potential target be in the opposite dugout this series?

Angels designated hitter Hideki Matsui will be a free agent, and the Los Angeles Times recently put the possibility of his return to the team at 3 to 5 percent. A's owner Lew Wolff told The Chronicle this week that he's not wild about one-year deals, but that said, Matsui isn't expected to be among the most high-priced free agents; it would probably take $5 million or so to sign him.

Matsui told The Chronicle through an interpreter on Tuesday that he'd consider the A's if they called, "the same as I would for every team."

Matsui said he likes the Bay Area and he noted that it has a "decent-sized Asian community." He also said that the vast Coliseum wouldn't be any deterrent as far as he is concerned.

Matsui, 36, has a lifetime .294 average in Oakland with four homers and 20 RBIs in 119 at-bats.

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